The author of The Children's Blizzard here traces the lives of a dozen men who left their childhood homes in Europe around the turn of the 20th century, journeyed to America and were processed through Ellis Island, and started over in a strange land—only to cross the Atlantic again in uniform when their adopted country entered the World War I. Two of the men in this book won the Medal of Honor. Three died in combat. Those who survived were profoundly altered, and their heroic service reshaped their families and ultimately the nation itself.

"This is an engrossing and moving story of 12 men, all of them immigrants to the U.S., who were transformed by their brief but intense experiences as soldiers in WWI. They included Italians, Poles, Scandinavians, Slovaks, Jews, and Irishmen. Most of them did not relish military service, and some of them fled their homelands to avoid conscription. Before they were drafted or enlisted in the U.S. military, few of them understood or cared about the issues that had torn apart a Europe that they had left behind. These men were not atypical, since an estimated 20 percent of U.S. military draftees were foreign born. Laskin tells their individual stories with eloquence and feeling while avoiding cheap sentimentality As he traces their paths from bootcamp to combat in France, one can see their gradual merging with their fellow soldiers into a true 'band of brothers.' This is a superb chronicle that illustrates how some young men were transformed into Americans."—Booklist